St. Paul’s United Church of Christ301 West Penn Avenue, Robesonia, PA 19551

610-621-5770 -- office@sprucc.org -- www.sprucc.org Worship 9:30am

No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here.

Welcome toSt. Paul’s United Church of ChristOnline Streaming Worship Service

May God’s loving presence be very real to you,and may you receive strength and guidance todaythat will enable you to handle life’s challenges.

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Sunday, July 19, 2020Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

We are coming together as a community of faith to worship our God,and provide for one another our love, support, and care.

ORDER FOR WORSHIP

We Gather

A TIME OF GATHERING

RINGING OF THE BELL

GREETING AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRELUDE

{To center your hearts and minds,you are invited to individually offer this prayer silently during or before the Prelude}

PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP Ï

Search us, O God, and know our hearts. Test us and know our thoughts. We gather witheager longing to know you, ever-present God, and to be known by you. We want to live as yourbeloved children. Assure us in these moments that you hear our prayers, even as your will isrevealed to us. Fill our dreams and our waking hours with radiant hope. May every time ofencounter move us to awe and fervent worship. Lead us in your way everlasting. Amen.

{Those who are able, please rise}

*PROCESSIONAL HYMN “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” vs 1 & 2

Reprinted on the following page.Used with Permission One License #A-728042

*INVOCATION

Leader: In the name of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy Spirit.ALL: Amen.

*CALL TO WORSHIP Ï

Leader: God has searched us and knows us.God knows when we sit down and when we rise up.

People: God searches out our path and our lying down.God is acquainted with all our ways.

Leader: Before a word is on our tongues, God knows it.We cannot escape from God’s spirit.

People: Such knowledge is a wonder to us.God illuminates the way before us.

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This is a time to confess our wrongdoings and neglects, ask forGod’s mercy, admit our need for God’s forgiving grace,

hear the assurance of our forgiveness,and then give God our thanks and praise.

We Repent

*CALL TO CONFESSION Ï (Leader)When we run away from our problems, we discover that we cannot run away from ourselves. Yet God is present with us to hear our confession and offer forgiveness. God brings us backto face what we have left behind in order that we may claim the promise of reconciliation andwholeness.

*CONFESSION OF SIN Ï (Unison)Almighty and forgiving God, search us and test us, that all wickedness may bepurged from us. Save us from our futile striving after our own advantage. Reshapeour will to conform with your intentions for us. We confess that we have allowedweeds to grow in our lives. Our focus has drifted from the harvest you intend to thefears and greed that hold us hostage. Release us from bondage to decay that wemay grow in likeness to Jesus Christ. We want to bear fruit for you. Turn us to thebrightness of a new day. Amen.

*SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

{A time to silently offer our personal prayers of confession}

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON Ï (Leader)If by the Spirit we put to death the misuse of our bodies, we will live. We are set free frombondage to death to claim the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Live in the hopeGod offers, waiting with patience for all that God will yet reveal. You will shine like the sun inthe realm of God, who leads us in the way everlasting. Amen.

*CALL TO PRAISE ×

Leader: O Lord, open our lipsPeople: And our mouths shall show forth your praise.

*SUNG PRAISE “For The Beauty of the Earth” + Blue #182

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies,For the love which from our birth, Over and around us lies;Lord of all, to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.

Music: Conrad Kocher, Text: Folliott PierpointReproduced with permission under One license A#728042

{Please be seated}

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We seek to learn more about God’s love and grace, and how we are tolive our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. The Bible is our primary text

on faith, which we consider to be scripture - sacred writings.We believe the Bible to be the “inspired word of God.”

Gospel (which means “Good News”) refers to Matthew, Mark, Luke,and John, which are Christians’ most central books of the Bible.

We Hear the Word of God

PROCLAMATION OF SCRIPTURE

First Lesson: Job 1:13-22Second Lesson: Romans 8:12-25Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

HYMN “Christ Will Come Again” vs 1 & 2Reprinted on the following page.

Used with Permission One License #A-728042

CHILDREN’S SERMON SERMON “Reality is Really Hard to Deal With”

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We have heard God’s call and have come and worshiped,we have confessed our sins and been assured of our forgiveness, we have

learned more about God’s grace and God’s will. We now respond by re-affirming our faith in God,

praying with and for one another, trusting in God’s providence in our world,and giving of ourselves for the sake of the mission and ministry of Jesus

Christ.

We Respond with Thanks

{Those who are able, please rise}

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (Unison) UCC Statement of Faith: The Revision of 1981: A Doxology

We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit,God of our Savior Jesus Christ and our God,

and to your deeds we testify:You call the worlds into being,

create persons in your own image,and set before each one the ways of life and death.

You seek in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.You judge people and nations by your righteous will declared through prophets and

apostles.In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth,

our crucified and risen Savior, you have come to us and shared our common lot,conquering sin and deathand reconciling the world to yourself.

You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit,creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ,binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

You call us into your churchto accept the cost and joy of discipleship,to be your servants in the service of others,to proclaim the gospel to all the worldand resist the powers of evil,to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table,to join him in his passion and victory.

You promise to all who trust you forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace,courage in the struggle for justice and peace,your presence in trial and rejoicing,and eternal life in your realm which has no end.

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto you. Amen.

{Please be seated}

CALL TO PRAYER

Leader: The Lord be with you.People: And also with you.Leader: Let us pray....

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Peace Prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi (Unison)

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is injury, pardon;where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seekto be consoled as to console,to be understood as to understand,to be loved as to love.For it is in giving that we receive,it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER (Unison)Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

OFFERTORY INVITATION Ï

Leader: We are debtors to God, who has given us the precious gift of life.People: We were created of good seed in God’s own image that we might bear fruit

for God’s kingdom.Leader: We have the capacity to dream and envision a better world, free of the sin that

so often seems to choke out the good.People: Through our tithes and offerings we give support to our common mission.

RETURNING GOD’S TITHES AND PRESENTING OUR OFFERINGS Click here

{Those who are able, please rise}

*OFFERTORY RESPONSE “O Bless the Gifts” + Blue #817O bless the gifts our hands have brought;And bless the work our hearts have planned.Ours is the faith, the will, the thought;The rest, O God, is in Your hand.

Text: Samuel Longfellow; Music: Twila ParisUsed with Permission One License #A-728042

*OFFERTORY PRAYERÏ

Thank you, God, for the rich heritage of faith we have received from our ancestors. We aregrateful that your Spirit is ever with us, assuring us of your acceptance and love. May ourtithes and offerings share this good news with other children of God who have not yetdiscovered their identity. May all of us grow in righteousness that we might togetherexperience the reality of your kingdom in our daily lives, here and now and for all eternity. Amen.

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In response to God’s love and grace,we go out into the world to share God’s Good News

We Are Sent Out

*COMMISSION Ï

Leader: Scatter to serve, listening for God’s direction.Let your faces shine with the good news you have received

People: The Spirit of God will lead us day by day.God claims us and is with us every moment.

Leader: Let us live, then, according to the Spirit.Let us show forth the first fruits of the Spirit.

People: With eager longing, we seek to live in the Spirit.We look up and go out into the world with hope and patience and joy.

ALL: Amen.

*BENEDICTION

*SENDING HYMN “For the Fruit of All Creation” vs 1 & 2Reprinted on the following page.

Used with Permission One License #A-728042

{Acolyte carries the light back into the world, leading us,as we now go to carry God’s light and love back into the world}.

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Link to Website’sUpcoming Events

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Worship Service Resource CreditsBiblical quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible (1989) by the Division of Christian Education of the

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.Î Reprinted with permission from The New Century Hymnal of the United Church of Christ. (1995). Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press. and/or the Book of Worship

of the United Church of Christ (1986). New York: United Church of Christ Office for Church Life and Leadership. Ï Taught By Love by Lavon Baylor. (1998). United Church Press; Cleveland, OH.Ð Reprinted with permission from Sundays and Seasons. (2019). Augsburg Fortress.å Reprinted with permission from the Order of Worship for the Reformed Church in the United States. and/or The Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

(1985) New York: United Church Press.Ò Reprinted with permission from Sourcebook of Worship Services Ü scouting.org - resources for Boy Scouts of AmericaÓ Reprinted with permission from Worship Ways of the United Church of Christ. (2013).Ô Worship WaysÞ Edmonds, Robert Lee (Editor). (2008). In Our Own Way; Living a Scouting Life Through Faith; A Handbook of Prayer and Devotion. Dallas, TX: Red Honor

PressÕ Reprinted with Permission from Lecturn Resource. 2014. Logos Productions, Inc., Inver Grove Heights, MN.à Miller, Earl D. (1994). Consecrating Stewards. Ohio Conference, United Church of Christ.× The Rev. Dr. Benjamin MotzOne License is our Church Copyright License# A-728042,, which is a subscription service giving us copyright permission to print the words and music found in the

bulletin and to live stream music on the internet during the Worship Service.Resources are edited and adapted for use in this worship service.

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The Flow of the Worship ServiceOur worship service has an intentional order to it. The flow of worship is called the liturgical movement. The

movement reminds us weekly of our journey in faith of moving from being separated from God by sin, to beingrestored by God’s grace as disciples of Christ. It is based on the sixth chapter of the Biblical book of Isaiah.

(1) God welcomes us and invites us(2) We respond to God’s call by worshiping Him(3) We confess our need for God’s forgiveness and grace(4) We are assured of God’s forgiveness and grace(5) We learn more about God’s will through scripture, song, and sermon(6) We grow closer to God and one another through prayer(7) We give God thanks by offering our time, talent, and treasure(8) God sends us into the world to share His love and grace with others

Visitation Care TeamOur Visitation Care Team (VCT) is composed of lay members who have been trained for visitation.

For more information, go to our “Visitation Care Ministries” page at www.sprucc.org. You may alsoemail them directly at CareTeam@sprucc.org.

Virtual Sunday School OptionsAlthough we are not meeting in person, you can still continue to learn about God’s Word through the

information available on our website. For our youth we have Sunday school music, videos, and anassortment of other materials that are available for downloading. Click on this link for Sunday school foryouth. We also have devotional music for all ages on our website, courtesy of Pastor Bob. Click on thislink for Devotional Music.

Thank You to all who have made this worship service possible!

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About Today

Church Season: Pentecost -which is the season of the church in mission. It is the time between theascension of Christ and his second coming, which is the time we are presently living in today, and assuch is the longest season of the church year. The day of Pentecost is the birthday of the Christianchurch.

Color of the Paraments (cloths on the altar and pulpit):Green - symbolizing the life God brings, especially through our mission work.

The suggested scripture lessons are from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), which selectspassages throughout the Bible over a three year cycle. The RCL is the most common lectionary used byChristian churches. We are in Year A, which emphasizes the Gospel of Matthew.

The Bible is in two sections: Old Testament - OT (scripture prior to Christ’s birth), located in thefirst 2/3 of the Bible; and New Testament - NT (about Christ & early church).

This Sunday, July 19, 2020, Lectionary Reading for the Seventh Sunday after PentecostJob 1:13-22; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

JobThe OT book of “Jôb” deals with the struggle of the suffering of the innocent, as well as offersanswers to why. The name Job can be translated as “enemy,” “the hated one,” “the foe”, and “whereis the divine father?” It was most likely written between the 5th & 6th century B.C.

The Letter of Paul to the RomansThis epistle (letter) is addressed “to all God’s beloved in Rome.” It was dictated by the Apostle Paulto Tertius in 58 A.D. in Corinth and delivered to Rome by Phoebe (she was appointed by Paul as adeacon, teacher, and leader of the church). Paul was a Christian, Jew, Pharisee, Roman citizen, andchurch leader, who had a direct encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus after Jesus’ascension into heaven. Paul, a highly educated man, wrote more of the NT than any other person.

The Gospel According to MatthewMatthew’s Gospel was written around 80-90 A.D. in Antioch, Syria by a Greek-speaking JewishChristian. The first writing was probably by a Christian scribe who wrote in the name of Matthew. Matthew was a disciple who knew Jesus personally.

Next Sunday, July 26, 2020, Lectionary Reading for the Eighth Sunday after PentecostGenesis 29:15-28 and Psalm 105:1-11, 45 or Psalm 128; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.

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